Five SnapShots Plus One
by AwesomePecan2
Summary: After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. And these six pictures tell the simple yet lovely story of two people who may or may not have always been meant to be. Five-shot prequel and one-shot sequel to my one-shot Lady Summer.


**A/N: I should be working on my Irrepressible series, but… Yeah, I need a break from that. So anyway, even though I didn't get a lot of reviews for it (although I keep going back to read them because they are just so **_**awesome**_**) and only one person asked if I could make a pre/sequel, I must admit that the idea wouldn't leave my mind. So, here's the five-shot prequel and one-shot sequel to **_**Lady Summer.**_

**And a note to those of you reading **_**Irrepressible**_**, I'm sorry, but as it turns out I wasn't as ready for it as I thought I was so it will be on **_temporary Hiatus_**.**

**XxXxXx**

Five Snap-shots Plus One

Chapter 1: The First Summer

It was a hot day. Not really unusual for summer, of course, but this particular day happened to be a _scorching hot_ day. Not only was it a _scorching hot_ day, one where Ludwig was forced to resort to standing in front of the open fridge and freezer, much to the amusement of his brother, but he could not bring himself to confront his older brother who was actually _supposed_ to be at work.

Instead Gilbert, along with his two best friends who were also supposed to be at work, were out in the backyard and playing like children, running around the kiddy Spider Sprinkler along with the dogs. The ridiculous laughing, accompanied by the loud barks the dogs were aiming at the yellow, plastic arachnid as they tried to bite the water shooting out of the whipping rubber tubes crowding the orange back, were thus giving him an obnoxious headache.

He took a deep breath and knocked his head against the cabinet door jamb below the freezer, wanting summer to be over already. He had extra-credit summer homework to finish and not to mention the two summer reading books he had to cover for his English Honors the next year. The heat and humidity was too thick and persuasive to allow him to concentrate.

He wondered if he should have gone with his grandfather back to Germany on his business trip. He could have taken his school-work with him. The summers back home were cooler than they were here in California, right? Honestly, he couldn't bring himself to remember. He didn't care at the moment. About anything. Really.

Bummer. The world was going to end a year earlier than expected. And he hadn't even graduated high-school yet.

When the dogs began barking rather frantically, and Gilbert shouted, "Hey, _bruder_! Come check this out!" he lifted his head and without his conscious approval, he tore himself away from the blessed coolness of the fridge and he obeyed his brother's demand. His mind was so fried he didn't even stop to think that his brother and his friends might be up to something.

He followed the shout of his brother to the front of the house (how'd he get there so fast?), but stayed under the [futile] shade his roof provided him over the porch. His brother and his friends were standing on the grassy lawn, soaking wet and all staring across the street and down a couple houses; staring at the house that was previously on sale.

Two moving vans were parked outside and were followed by a pale-blue mini-van. That car parked in the driveway and the engine – which Ludwig realized was louder than it should have been, but maybe that was because the entire cul-de-sac, including the dogs, had suddenly gone dead-silent – was shut off.

That house had been on sale for months and had thus become a sort of hang-out for some of the troublemakers that lived there, namely his brother and his friends and a few others who had already graduated. It was also a pretty small neighborhood. Nearly everyone knew each other or had grown up together and while Ludwig had moved here from Germany with his brother and grandfather, he had been young enough to now be considered one of the 'old-timers' of the neighborhood.

Try as he might, he still had no clue what that was supposed to mean.

Ludwig and his family had been the last people to move to the town in the last ten years, having moved in after the old couple that had lived in his house was moved to a retirement home. The woman who had lived in that house that had just been sold moved out six months ago, and everyone had been waiting patiently and eagerly to see when or if someone new would move in.

And now they had. Pretty soon there would be gossip and rumors flying around about the new people on the block and Ludwig merely sighed in dismay. As long as the upcoming uproar didn't last for the rest of the summer, and as long as the new neighbors weren't as insane as the rest of the cul-de-sac, and as long as it didn't give him a monstrous headache, then he could actually care less.

The front door to the car swung open, allowing a tall man to step out, a broad smile adorning his face as he stared up at the house. The back door swung open immediately afterwards. Out came two girls, one seemingly overjoyed and giggling while the other stood back, arms crossed and hip jutting out. The bouncy girl spoke rapidly in a foreign language to the man, probably her father, and he laughed, digging into his pocket to pull out the keys and handed it to the girl. She squealed and ran for the door, unlocking it and bolting inside with the man following after her more calmly.

Two girls moved into the neighborhood. Ludwig counted down from five… four… three and one.

Instantly sound came back to the cul-de-sac, unseen movement coming from inside the other houses in excitement, though were obviously not crazy enough to come out in the heat. Without thinking, Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio bolted to their new neighbors, forgetting that they were only clad in their swimming trunks, er, Speedos in Francis' case. Ludwig resisted the urge to smack his own forehead and followed them, instantly dying under the oppressive heat.

Yeah… not too many girls lived there. Including these two girls, the cul-de-sac now held a grand total of fourteen girls, including the women, compared to the male population of about thirty or so.

When he heard a shriek, Ludwig forced himself to walk faster in order to try and save the unsuspecting new girl that stayed outside to supervise the moving-men. She was yelling rapidly in a Latin language, that much he could tell, and she proceeded to punch Francis in the jaw and kick Antonio in the stomach. Gilbert was standing by on the grass and laughing his ass off with his usual, or perhaps _un_usual snake-like cackle.

Ludwig debated whether he should help them or not. Francis had probably groped her in an inappropriate place and Antonio, with his lack of regard for personal space, probably threw his arms around her in what he thought was a welcoming and friendly, bone-crushing hug.

Hmm… Should he help or not? Help or not? Help…? Or not? His t-shirt clung uncomfortably to his sweat damp skin. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. His hair, usually immaculate and in place, was probably all mussed up. _Gott_ it was hot.

"Aww, _sorella_, you already made friends, ve! That's so cute!" At the sound of the new, cheery voice, Ludwig and the others turned to see the other girl had come out of the house and was beaming at who he assumed was her sister. Granted her hair was lighter than her sister's and she seemed so much friendlier. Her overly violent sister then turned her glare on to her, and started shouting at her in their native tongue, to which she just giggled and stepped closer to them.

"_Ciao_! It's nice to meet you! Are you our new neighbors? Do you like pasta? I love pasta! Oh, I should invite you all tonight for dinner! It will be so much fun! Oh, _mi dispiace_, I almost forgot! I am Felicia Vargas and this is my older sister, Lovina!"

Antonio squealed in delight, _prancing_ over to her, and Francis released his hold of the struggling Lovina in order to _croon_ over the pretty girl. Gilbert jumped and joined his friends, shouting nonsense about 'leaving the awesomeness out of it' and 'should be illegal'. Ludwig merely stood with his back burning under the heat of the glaring just-afternoon sun.

So… judging by their accents, Felicia and her sister were Italian, as was their father no doubt. And that only added to the cultural and racial diversities of their small town. Seriously, the place held people from almost every country of the world.

He paid no attention to the moving-men walking back and forth from the house to the vans. Hmm. Felicia didn't seem that much older than him. She'd probably be going to his school now. As would her sister. His mind then drew a sudden blank. It probably wasn't a good idea to keep standing out in the heat like this.

"Hey, _bastardo_!" That was the only warning he got before he was smacked on the arm. Hard. He glanced down in surprise at his arm that was now stinging under the red hand-print. He glanced up to see Lovina scowling at him rather darkly. It suited her perfectly. She glared so heatedly he wondered why he hadn't blown up yet.

"Stop making googley eyes at my sister! There's no way I'ma let you go near her, understand?" She yelled. When he made no gesture to confirm that he did (he actually didn't. What the hell was up with this girl?), she kicked him in the shin and then proceeded to haul his brother and his friends off of her laughing sister.

That was when their rather young-looking father decided to make an appearance. He was all smiles and grins and friendly greetings. His skin was a golden tan and he was fairly well-built, his lean muscles being prominent under his dress shirt. And when he neared the _adult_ trio still hovering around his _teenage_ daughters, he was mildly relieved he had decided to stay back.

Let's just say that, at the moment, the three of them knew never to cross the Italian man or screw around with his daughters. Too bad Francis never learned his lessons and Antonio was too oblivious to understand when his life was being threatened. And Gilbert would later develop a small crush on Felicia, one he would never really become aware of and would simply fade without his notice.

A giggle to his left jolted him out of his heat-induced daze. He came face to face with a beaming Felicia who he hadn't noticed sidle up next to him. Her wide eyes were the color of amber. Her skin was also a golden-tan, highlighting her eyes and tied-up hair and he noticed an odd curl curling out from the left side of her bangs.

"Uh…?" Well. His brain was officially fried. Felicia held out her dainty hand to him, still beaming while her father was now smiling and conversing with the trio he had just been threatening, as he somehow managed to get them to help out with their boxes and furniture. They also had t-shirts on… and pants on Francis' part…

"Hey there, silly! Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" That snapped him out of his rare, possibly apocalypse-inducing stupor as he shook her hand. He carelessly noted the calluses on her fingers

"Er, Ludwig… Ludwig Beilschmidt." She giggled at this, making him frown slightly. He would have asked what she found so funny, when a shadow loomed up behind her.

Unlike his brother, Ludwig knew how to admit defeat when he had to, though that didn't mean he enjoyed it. He also knew how to read and take in his surroundings, something he knew his brother could probably do if he tried, and wasn't so obnoxious and self-centered. He also knew the proper manner of decorum, so as soon as he realized who was behind his new neighbor, Ludwig straightened his back and stood as tall as he could, alert and proper.

"Ah, you must be related to that red-eyed boy?" His tone was smooth and light, as if he wasn't trying to threaten Ludwig with his mere presence.

"That is my older brother, sir. I apologize for his behavior towards your daughters; I promise you he won't do anything rude again. Nor his friends." The man blinked his darker amber eyes at him, his narrowed eyes going wide with what appeared to be surprise. Then his booming laughter drowned out Felicia's giggles.

"Haha! No, no, you are mistaken my boy. Felicia and Lovina are not my daughters," he pulled Felicia into a one-arm hug, glancing around as if Lovina would have been summoned at the utterance of her name, "they are my granddaughters." And because his brain had finally died after being fried for days, Ludwig became dumbstruck. This caused the man to laugh again.

"Er, my apologies, sir, but… you do not-,"

"Do not worry, my boy! Haha!" Felicia giggled, wrapping her arms tightly around the broad man's waist.

"This is _Nonno,_ ve! He is-a my grandpa!" At this, her ageless grandfather, who very much reminded Ludwig of his own, held out a massive, strong looking hand to him.

"I like you, my boy. You-a are a good young man. Call me Roma!" He hurried forward, circling the baffled Ludwig and placing his hand on his back, ushering him forward and past Felicia who was once again giggling. Roma proceeded to babble on, intimidating persona replaced with a bubbly and cheerful one.

In the end, Ludwig was asked to help them move things in. Gilbert laughed at him as he passed by with a couple boxes, Francis chuckling behind him, and Antonio attempting to talk to the irritated Lovina while he helped bring in some of the furniture. Roma kept shooting him warning glares even as he beamed and praised them all for their generous help.

It was too hot for this.

XxXxXx

So their first meeting wasn't as spectacular or dramatic as the movies or TV shows made these types of things out to be. It certainly was different. And while Ludwig had not initially wished to involve himself with these people, Felicia had taken an instant liking to him and he eventually found he could not imagine what the rest of his summer, or his life for that matter, would be like without her.

Before he knew it, school was only a couple weeks away, and he still hadn't even finished his work. But it was cool outside that day and Felicia had yet to jump him and cling to his arm that day. So he pushed away from his desk, gathered his papers together and tucked them away neatly, pushed his chair back in, and made his way to the front door and outside, where some fresh air would maybe do him some good.

He stood on his porch, sparing a brief thought to the whereabouts of his brother, when he heard a _click_ and a now all too familiar giggle. He braced himself and soon felt a smaller body crash into his side and an arm wrap around his.

"Oh, Ludwig, look! I took a picture of you see!" Felicia shoved the camera under his baffled face, letting him look at the screen where he saw himself, face calm and eyes slightly dazed. He forced down his blush and swallowed thickly at her next remark.

"Ve! You look so handsome, Ludwig! This is Kiku's camera. He taught me how to use it and let me borrow it until school starts. Oh, we should go and take pictures, ve! That would be so much fun! Can we Ludwig? Can we?"

Yes, he would never again be able to imagine what his life would have been like without her. It had seemed as if he'd known her forever and he knew, though he would only come to realize it a few years later, that he never wanted to be without her.

No matter how much she stressed him out and bugged him.

So he sighed, nodded his head, and told her to wait while he put on his shoes and grabbed his keys, quickly leaving a note for his brother or grandfather (who had returned a few weeks ago) to find.

And while she babbled on non-stop about pictures and paintings and Lovina and pasta, he did not realize the slight smile he wore the rest of the afternoon.

**XxXxXx**

**A/N: I think the ending kinda dragged on a little, but I like this. I hope the characters weren't too OOC. I had major fun writing out the Bad Touch Trio. I'm Prussia, by the way.**

**Oh, did anyone go to the Anime Convention in LA? July 1****st**** through 4****th****? I went Monday and I had so much fun. I spent the entire time in the back where all the artists were and I bought mostly **_**Hetalia**_** posters. Unfortunately I could only go to the exhibit hall and I only went one day. Still *dreamy sigh*.**

**Translations: If I got something wrong, I'd very much appreciate it if you told me.**

**German: Bruder - brother**

**Italian: Sorella - sister; ciao - hello; mi dispiace - I'm sorry; bastardo - bastard; Nonno - Grandpa**


End file.
